Browsing: Carriers

What started as a Navy-themed TV drama with an impressive Hollywood pedigree slowly became a show without a ship, without a star — and, eventually, without a chance. “Wild Blue,” an aircraft carrier-based pilot pitched to Fox but delayed when producers couldn’t land a flattop to film on, won’t be shot after all, according to multiple reports. Both The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.com said the show’s stumbles weren’t limited to finding a carrier; in fact, plans called for filming to commence without a flattop to accommodate the schedule of potential leading man Tim McGraw — country music superstar, “Friday Night…

That old saying about a picture being worth 1,000 words? There’s a reason everybody says it: A few words, anyway: As the striking photo above — part landscape, part history lesson — shows, the crew of the aircraft carrier Nimitz made its way to Pearl Harbor on Tuesday, en route to a pre-Christmas homecoming in Everett, Wash. As the ship passed by the USS Arizona Memorial, sailors and Marines paid tribute to fellow service members lost during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack. “Every time I stand up there, I feel goosebumps when we pass the Arizona,” Interior Communications 2nd Class…

Halloween is in the rear view, but two very sweet pics arrived in the Navy Times inbox that require sharing. These images show Addie, the 7-year-old daughter of Senior Chief Air Traffic Controller (AW/SW) Kevin Kruse and Wendy McCoy Kruse, decked out in an aircraft carrier costume. Addie, in aquaflage no less, serves as the ship’s island while the rest of the flattop is built around her wheelchair. “The sounds of ‘Anchors Aweigh’ playing as she strolled the neighborhood in the USS Addie made for the best Halloween ever!” Wendy wrote in a message to Navy Times. The Navy spouse…

Sailors on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln opened a time capsule of sorts last month and didn’t know it. While performing work connected to the refueling and complex overhaul Lincoln is undergoing at Virginia’s Newport News Shipbuilding, sailors assigned to the ship’s combat systems department found the signatures of two sailors on the carrier’s original deck plates while they were removing tiles. The plankowners made their marks less than a year after the ship’s 1989 commissioning. A picture of the signatures went up on the ship’s official Facebook page shortly after the Oct. 23 find. In a social media success…

The Navy unloaded its first supercarrier Tuesday for 1 cent. Texas shipbreakers earned a penny from the Navy to dismantle and recycle the remaining hulk that was formerly the aircraft carrier Forrestal, a ship that sailed to wars and crises over 38 years and which suffered one of the Navy’s worst tragedies: a 1967 fire that killed 134 sailors. Despite its service over 21 deployments, the ship’s legacy is forever tied to the flight deck conflagration that raged for hours after a rocket mounted under wing accidentally fired, slamming into another jet and unleashing a fuel blaze that cooked off…

A history lesson from the pages of Navy Times: “ABOARD THE USS ENTERPRISE IN THE ARABIAN SEA — Most Americans can only imagine striking back in anger after terrorist attacks 0n the United States on Sept. 11. But the 5,100 men and women aboard this — the Navy’s first nuclear aircraft carrier — were in position to respond when the word came to attack Oct. 7. They got the chance to exact a little vengeance.” Then-staff writer William H. McMichael (Bill, for short) began his extensive coverage of the first shots fired in Operation Enduring Freedom with those words in…

It’s not homework. It’s history. On Nov. 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln spoke 272 words to a crowd at Gettysburg, Pa., months after a defining, devastating Civil War battle. It’s a model in oratorical precision – a powerful message of strength through sacrifice, unclouded by bombast or linguistic gymnastics. Speakers and writers could do worse than to strive for such simplicity. The Navy’s top spokesman said as much last week (here via here). It took him about 1,772 words. The best four were these: “Each word must count.” Sailors aboard the carrier Abraham Lincoln should keep that advice in mind if…

It can hold 14 helicopters. It’s more than 800 feet long. It has a very flat top: It’s Japan’s largest warship since World War II — unveiled on the 68th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. But it’s not a carrier. The destroyer Izumo cost $1.2 billion and goes public amid territorial clashes between China and Japan (China, for its part, appears to be always ready). Japanese officials insist the Aug. 6 unveiling was coincidental and had more to do with favorable ocean tides than World War II history, according to this AFP report. They also insist the ship…

For your daily dose of heartwarming videos, check out the two homecomings below. Though they happen across the country, they have expressions of pure joy in common. The first, from the Kitsap Sun. [HTML1] Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) (AW) David Templeton, Operations Specialist 1st Class (AW) Sean Shenefelt and Senior Chief Machinist’s Mate (SW) Jason Turner made a surprise visit to PineCrest Elementary School in Bremerton, Wash., on Tuesday afternoon. The three sailors, assigned to the carrier John C. Stennis, were scheduled to be home in early May. About 130 kids were at an assembly having a story read to…